


Hidden Away

by DownOnThePharm



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:04:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DownOnThePharm/pseuds/DownOnThePharm
Summary: A follow-up to In the Garden.  Rimmer has been disappearing lately, and Lister is determined to find out where he goes.  Post Series X, and pretty fluffy.





	Hidden Away

For months now, Rimmer had been disappearing for hours at a time on a nearly daily basis. Although Lister generally respected his partner’s privacy, he couldn’t help feeling curious. He knew that Rimmer wasn’t visiting his usual haunts, as he’d spent several afternoons attempting to track down the hologram. The Observation Dome, the Astro-Nav stacks in the library, the diesel decks, the ice skating rink, and even the pool had all proven on investigation to be unoccupied. It was all quite mysterious in a mundane way. 

As the monotony of day-to-day life and Lister’s natural inquisitiveness were beginning to get the better of him lately, he determined to find out once and for all where Rimmer was going. So, when his partner quietly headed out of the bunkroom the next afternoon, Lister immediately slid off the sofa where he’d been innocently lounging and playing _Call of Duty: Mars_ , and patched into the security video system from the nearest console. He tracked the hologram’s movements through the corridors and lifts for a good thirty minutes, managing to suppress his niggling feelings of guilt by telling himself that it was vital in the event of an emergency that he knew where Rimmer was off hiding. Finally, as Lister was about to doze off from boredom, Rimmer arrived at what was evidently his destination, slipping through a door and out of surveillance camera view. 

_The Botanical Gardens? What’s he wanting in there?_ Lister knew Rimmer enjoyed gardening, and would occasionally help Kryten tend his vegetable plots. However, the mech was busy cleaning out the freezer next to his quarters on V-Deck, so that couldn’t be the attraction. There were no functioning security cameras in the gardens, as the Dwarfers had never bothered to replace them as they malfunctioned. No help for it - if Lister wanted to know what Rimmer was up to, and he did, he would have to go see for himself. He sighed a bit at the prospect of the long walk, stuffed a couple of cold cans of lager into his jacket pockets for the trip, and headed out after Rimmer.

When he finally reached his objective, Lister hesitated outside the main entrance for a moment. Rimmer knew very well that Lister never visited the gardens unless he was playing crazy golf, and the course was out of order at the moment, as Kryten was redesigning the approach to the miniature Starbug at the thirteenth hole. The hologram would see right through any flimsy excuse Lister could concoct for being down there. _He’ll be seriously smegged off at me for this if he catches me,_ Lister thought. _Maybe I should leave him alone._

_Nah. Smeg it. He’ll get over it._

Slowly, Lister pushed open the door and slipped quietly into the gardens. Once inside, he padded stealthily along the main path, taking stock of his surroundings. Rimmer wasn’t working in Kryten’s vegetable plots, nor was he on the crazy golf course several dozen meters away. Stopping for a moment, Lister listened intently for his partner, but heard nothing other than the buzzing of insects and the soft burbling of a nearby fountain. _Doesn’t mean much that I’m not hearing him, though,_ Lister thought. As a hologram and retired space hero, Rimmer could be almost eerily silent when he chose to be so. The Scouser shrugged to himself, and set off again.

As he ventured deeper into the gardens, Lister noticed a small side path that seemed much less overgrown than any of the others he’d passed. Acting on a hunch, he turned down the little pathway, following it as it wound through a thick tangle of undergrowth. As he turned a sharp corner, he caught a brief glimpse of bright blue through the bushes. He stood still for an instant, then crept down the path a bit further until he found a better vantage point. He could just see Rimmer sitting on a small bench, surrounded by flowers, his head bent in concentration as he drew in a sketchbook. The hologram had a serene expression on his face, and seemed to be completely at peace. Lister drank in the little tableau for a few minutes. _You’re so beautiful when you’re like this. Smeg, I really am a lucky guy to have you. Never thought I’d ever say that..._  


“I know you’re there.” 

Rimmer’s quiet voice startled Lister out of his reverie. Still looking at his sketch, the hologram repeated, “I know you’re there, Listy. It’s not that simple to sneak up on me, and you aren’t as stealthy as you seem to believe.”

His face flushing with guilt and embarrassment, Lister stood upright and began to back away while apologizing. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just wanted to see where you’d been going all the time. I shouldn’t have come here - I’ll be going now.”

“You don’t have to leave.” 

“No, I will. I can see this is your hideaway. I...”

“Listy, please. Come here.” Rimmer looked over at Lister then, and held a hand out to him. Reluctantly, feeling as though he were invading his partner’s haven, Lister slowly complied. He was startled when Rimmer, rather than lecturing him, instead rose from his seat and embraced him, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Rimmer, man, I really am sorry. I should never have followed you here. You’re probably smegged off as hell at me, and I don’t blame you.” Lister turned his face towards Rimmer’s, giving him an apologetic little peck on the cheek. 

Rimmer sighed softly. “I was planning on bringing you here eventually anyway. I’m honestly surprised it took you this long to find me, although somehow I doubt it’s for lack of trying, knowing you.”

“Well... no.” Lister blushed guiltily. 

“I thought as much. Gimboid.”

“So, you aren’t angry?”

A loving, lingering kiss, then a softly whispered, “No.”

Rimmer reclaimed his spot on the little garden bench, and drew Lister down to sit beside him. Lister looked around in wonder at the lushly blooming flowerbeds and bushes surrounding them. “What is this place? Did you do all this? It’s brilliant!”

Rimmer smiled almost shyly. “I did, yes. It’s my little project. I’ve been working on it for months now. No one knows about it except me - well, and you, now, obviously. I used to help Dennis - Father - with the gardens when I was a child. This makes me feel closer to him.” Rimmer bowed his head, closing his eyes against the pricking of unshed tears. “Do you... do you think he would be proud of me?”

“As proud as I am, darlin’. It’s wonderful, and it’s yours.” 

”Ours, now.”

It was a long while before they left their secret garden.


End file.
